Search form

Cougar Soccer Travels to Cross-State Rival No. 18 Washington

Washington State (5-8-1) travels to Seattle to battle No. 18 Washington (8-4-3)...WSU is 1-2-1 in Pacific-10 play...Washington is also 1-2-1 in conference, losing OSU 0-2 and beating Oregon 2-0 last weekend.

Head coach Matt Potter said, 'Washington has had a wonderful season to date. I have the utmost respect for Coach Gallimore, her staff and team. They have consistently been in the Top 20 this year and will present a great challenge to us.

'We go in to the game knowing that anything can happen in a local derby. Tradition has favored the home team but we will be prepared,' Potter added, 'we are no strangers to playing good teams on the road. It should be a great game.'

Scouting the Huskies: Washington has been ranked as high as No.13, but fell to No. 18 in the NSCAA/adidas rankings after splitting its matches last weekend...OSU scored two goals in the first 13 minutes...Washington outshot the Beavers 25-4 and posted five corner kicks while Oregon State did not take one...the Huskies beat Oregon 2-0 with a goal in each half...Jamie Carstensen scored her fourth goal in the 23rd minute...Tina Frimpong scored the second goal of the match and her 10th goal this season...Frimpong leads the Huskies with 23 points...she has 10 goals, three assists and four game-winning goals...Melissa Bennett is second on the team, posting seven assists and two goals for 11 points...Washington has scored 27 goals in 15 games...allowed only 13 goals by opponents...the Huskies have outshot opponents 261-153...they average 1.68 goals per game and 17.4 shots per game...head coach Lesle Gallimore is in her tenth season at UW...her record is currently 110-71-13...UW has participated in the NCAA tournament six times under Gallimore...the Huskies finished 4-4-1 last year in Pac-10 play, finishing fifth in conference...WSU and Washington tied 2-2 in double-overtime at Pullman in 2002...UW leads 6-4-2 in series play with WSU.

Last Week's Recap: The Cougars finished 1-0-1 after a home weekend of home Pac-10 play...they beat Oregon 2-0 and tied OSU 1-1 in double-overtime...the victory over Oregon was the first conference win for first-year head coach Matt Potter and his coaching staff.

Senior forward Rachel Rodrick scored both goals against the Ducks in WSU's victory Friday... the game-winning goal was a penalty kick resulting from a foul called on senior defender Lindsey Werdell in the 64th minute...Werdell received a red card on the play, leaving Oregon down a man...Rodrick put away her second goal at the 88:59 mark...heading a Nicole Wilcox cross into the net...the goals put Rodrick at the head of the points list for the Cougs with 11 with five goals, one assist and three game-winning goals...Rodrick posted nine shots against Oregon...the Cougs out shot the Ducks 26-15...Oregon had four corner kicks compared to Washington State's three...WSU goalkeeper Katie Hultin posted six saves...Oregon goalkeeper Domenique Lainez made eight...16 players saw action against the Ducks including Megan Cecchini who went on for Jennie Kunc who suffered a foot injury and had to leave the game...the loss left Oregon 1-1 in conference and WSU 1-2 in Pac-10 play...the win puts Washington State 5-2-1 in series play with the Ducks.

'We always want to set a standard for winning home games and today is no different' Potter added. 'We had some moments early on that with a little composure the scoring could have been a little different, but we made hard work of it and the bottom line is we found a way to hit the back of the net.'

Despite out-shooting the Beavers 30-9, the Cougs finished with a 1-1 tie after 110 minutes of play...both squads had opportunities in the first half, but neither team would score...WSU out-shot OSU 11-3 in the first half...starting Washington State goalkeeper Katie Hultin posted two saves in the half...Sara Leibowitz replaced Hultin for the second half...Beaver forward Janelle Joy scored at the 72:02 mark, hitting a shot from outside the 18-yard box...the Cougars answered 35 seconds later with a Nicole Wilcox goal...WSU midfielder Kim Morgan took a shot from 33-yards out...it hit the crossbar and Wilcox followed it up with a header into the back of the net...the goal was Wilcox's fourth this season...OSU came to Pullman after upsetting then No. 13 Washington...the win was the first victory for Oregon State over UW in 12 meetings...the tie leaves WSU 6-4-3 in series play with OSU.

'I think the result overall was fair,' WSU Head Coach Matt Potter said. 'We had some chances and we dodged some bullets. We didn't lose this weekend so to come away with a win and a tie is not bad going forward.

'Ultimately we'd like to win these games at home but the important thing is we didn't lose today and we're still in control of what we want to get out of things. This game is a good platform for us to carry forward for next week's match against Washington.'Television Coverage: Friday's Washington-Washington State game will be televised on a delayed basis by Fox Sports Net Northwest...the game is scheduled to air in Seattle and throughout the region on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. and Thursday, Oct. 30 at noon.

Outcomes Against Common Opponents: Washington State and the Huskies have played seven common opponents this season...four conference and three non-conference...WSU and UW both sit 1-2-1 in Pac-10 standings...both squads lost to then No. 2 North Carolina...WSU 0-3, UW 1-2 in double-overtime...the Huskies beat then No. 6 Texas 3-1, causing the Longhorns to drop to No. 16 when the Cougars played them a week later...Washington State lost 0-2...both squads beat Idaho State 2-0 in the same weekend...No. 3 UCLA beat WSU and UW in double overtime...Washington State 1-2, Washington 2-3...UW tied No.25 USC 1-1, the Cougs lost 0-1 to the Trojans...both teams beat Oregon 2-0...OSU gave UW their second conference loss 0-2...the Cougs tied Oregon State 1-1 in double-overtime.

WSU Injuries: Two players on a squad of 26 are out with injuries for the Cougs following this weekend's play...sophomore defender Jennie Kunc suffered a left-forefoot sprain against Oregon and is expected out 2-3 weeks...Kunc started 10 of 13 games she played in and was a staple in the Cougar defense over the last couple weekends of play...Kunc might be back for the weekend of Nov. 7-9 when the Cougars host Arizona, coached by former WSU Head Coach Dan Tobias, and Arizona State...Keegan Hughes has been out with a foot sprain but is expected back to practice this week...whether she is available for the match against Washington is questionable.

Rachel Rodrick Moving Up The Record Books: Senior forward Rachel Rodrick has taken over the third place spot in WSU's career goals list with 23... tied for third in career points with 59...she is tied for fifth in career assists with 13...Rodrick needs just two more assists to move into third in assists...with her performance against Oregon, Rodrick took over third place in career multiple-goal matches with five...adding three game-winning goals to her record moves Rodrick into the career-game-winning goals category with four.